Businessman quits Kamal’s party

A key member of actor Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) quit the party on Monday citing “internal politics”, in a set back to the year-old political outfit that is gearing up to contest its first-ever elections.

C K Kumaravelu, co-founder Natural group of salons that has branches across South India, announced his decision to resign from the primary membership of MNM accusing people around Kamal Haasan the reason for him taking the step.

Kumaravelu was slated to contest from Cuddalore Lok Sabha constituency in northern Tamil Nadu as an MNM candidate.

“Kamal Haasan is a part-time politician. Kamal Haasan is a nice person and he has good intentions, but people around him will not let him do any good (for the people). A new party like the MNM should have hit the ground by now by announcing candidates, but the party has not yet taken decision on candidates,” Kumaravelu, who hails from a family of businessmen, told reporters.

He took pot shots at Dr Mahendran, who was appointed vice president of the MNM last year and pinned the blame on Mahendran for him quitting the party.

Accepting Kumaravelu’s resignation, the MNM said that the businessman unilaterally posted on his social media accounts that he was the candidate from Cuddalore Lok Sabha constituency, which is a case of gross indiscipline.

“Makkal Needhi Maiam has a strict zero tolerance policy on applicants violating party principles for which the MNM gives utmost importance. This is more so on applicants not communicating pending decisions to any media/social media ahead of the party leadership’s formal statement on the same especially when there were more than a few hundred applicants waiting to be interviewed in a democratic manner,” the party said in a statement.

Kumaravelu’s statement comes as an embarrassment to the MNM since it comes just two days ahead of an expected announcement of candidates’ list by the Kamal Haasan-led party.

The businessman also alleged that the party was being run by a few people sitting in an apartment complex completely ignoring the ground realities.

Kumaravelu also said that he began working in Cuddalore since “top people” in the “management committee” told him that he would be the candidate from the constituency.